The wolf and the flamingo

A story I read some years ago may be interesting to recall here as it relates to the subject of today’s discourse. “Al-Mutala’at ul-Mulhaqah” was our Arabic primer in form three, in 1976, at the Government Arabic Teachers’ College, Minna. One of the lessons in the book, I remember, was a story on “The wolf […]

A story I read some years ago may be interesting to recall here as it relates to the subject of today’s discourse. “Al-Mutala’at ul-Mulhaqah” was our Arabic primer in form three, in 1976, at the Government Arabic Teachers’ College, Minna. One of the lessons in the book, I remember, was a story on “The wolf and the flamingo”. According to the fairy-tale, the wolf once invited flamingo to a dinner. When flamingo arrived, the wolf brought two flat plates each filled with richly prepared soup as their dinner. While the wolf licked every drop of the soup, flamingo could not due to its long bill. Flamingo sat patiently and watched the wolf enjoy the soup. When the wolf was through, it asked flamingo: “Are you okay?” Flamingo, though uncomfortable, replied “Alhamdu lillah” (meaning: Praise is to Allah).
After a period of time, flamingo thought it was right (in fulfillment of all righteousness) to invite the wolf to a dinner. When the wolf arrived, flamingo placed two thin-necked large jugs (called qulla in Arabic) on the floor; each filled with appetizing soup that sent strong aroma to even a passer-by. When flamingo declared the dinner opened with prayers, the wolf soon felt badly offended as its big mouth could not pass through the thin neck of the jug to reach the soup in it. The wolf felt embittered and watched flamingo using its long beak to access the delicious soup with all ease from the jug. When flamingo emptied the jug, it asked the wolf: “Are you okay?” The wolf replied “Alhamdu Lillah”. The wolf hurriedly left flamingo’s place in anger to see the fox; obviously to complain. After listening to the wolf, the fox laughed and said; “You started it; the first in the act is a worst sinner”.
While recently receiving an Anambra State delegation led by Governor Peter Obi at the State House in Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan asked governors to stop abusing him. In his frustrated outburst, President Jonathan said “A number of politicians feel that the best thing to do is to be abusing Mr. President, abusing the federal Government, and so on. You are elected to develop your states. I think the best thing is to have good relationship with the center… Wearing boxing gloves, jumping in to the boxing ring to face Mr. President does not help the development of any state”.
The semantic dimensions of Jonathan’s remarks suggest that his comments were a response to some governors in the opposition party, the APC. President Jonathan could have taken offence even from a recent bolt from the blue made public by the Kwankwasiyah Governor of Kano State Engr. Rabiu Musa. Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso accused Jonathan of giving 16 governors N32 billion (N2 billion for each governor) to vote Jonah Jang as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF). Governor Kwankwaso made the assertion at a meeting between him and a team from the secretariat of the NGF on peer review mechanism led by the forum’s director general, Mr. Ashishana B. Okauru at the Government House, Kano. The Kwankwasiyyah Governor alleged that Jonathan was “deliberately causing disunity among the 36 governors of the federation just to jeopardize the collective interest of Nigerians”. According to Kwankwaso, it is for this reason that “the federal government is mischievously recognizing Jang who scored 16 votes against Rivers States governor Rotimi Amaechi who polled 19 votes in last year’s election of NGF.
The refusal by the presidency to react to Kwankwaso’s allegation implicitly gives credibility to it. The use (or in this case misuse) of public funds by Jonathan to bribe some governors to vote Jang as chairman of the NGF is illegal and scandalous. This case probably failed to catch the attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) because the presidency is involved.
This column, perhaps, needs to ask President Jonathan whether or not he heard Chief Edwin Clark, Asari Dokubo and lately Nyesom Wike abusing other Nigerians who come from geo-political zones other than the South-South. Now that Jonathan is asking governors to stop abusing him, where was he, if we may ask, when Edwin Clark in an open-letter last year tongue-lashed Malam Adamu Ciroma as “an empty, narrow-minded, and self-centered bigot”? Where was Jonathan when Edwin Clark lampooned Malam Adamu Ciroma; describing him as “an unrepentant ethnic chauvinist”? Did President Jonathan hear Asari Dokubo’s threat that there would be war if Jonathan, his pay master, is not elected as President in 2015? Did Jonathan also hear Asari Dokkubo when he said “Nigeria will be history if he is arrested”?
Unless he is deaf, and I believe he is not, Jonathan heard all these but kept mute probably because the foul language of his kin served his purpose. Like the wolf in the story related above, Jonathan forgot that Nigerians who suffered vulgarity on the lips of his Ijaw kinfolk could react with corresponding or even more embarrassing insults. It is amazing that Jonathan felt provoked by the utterances (in the form of allegations, indictment, etc) of governors and other politicians when actually he and/or his political aide(s) started the offensive game of insults. So, it hurts to mince words?
While politicians, public office holders and indeed other Nigerians are encouraged to guard their utterances, Jonathan must first stop his Ijaw natives from attacking the character and personality of other Nigerians. May Allah (SWT) guide us in our words and actions; and present us from a “worst sinner”, amin.